Nevada
EDITORIAL: Legislature needs to fix Nevada’s probate law
There needs to be appropriate safeguards protecting the estates of the deceased. It’s clear Nevada doesn’t have them.
The Review-Journal’s Eli Segall and Michael Scott Davidson recently exposed a tragic scandal. Complete strangers are legally selling the houses of deceased men and women in Clark County. After a person dies, an estate often ends up in probate. That’s how the legal system moves assets and settles debts. A key factor in this process is the person who manages the estate.
Nevada law provides a long list of those who may perform that role. Usually, a relative will assume that duty. But the last entry on that list is anyone “legally qualified.”
That’s the opening Estate Administrative Services and Compass Realty &Management used to take control of hundreds of homes. Thomas Moore, the founder of Estate Administration Services, received court permission to administer at least 340 cases. Cynthia “Cyndi” Sauerland with Compass obtained this authority at least 125 times. Between the two of them, they “sold at least around 360 homes through probate court,” the story revealed.
Sometimes this can be necessary. Abandoned homes can quickly become neighborhood hazards. They can attract squatters and turn into eyesores that lower property values. With a housing shortage, it’s better for the community when abandoned homes return to the market. Some homes in these situations are underwater. Lenders can agree to a short sale, which resolves the loan balance, but doesn’t leave anything for potential heirs.
None of this happens by magic. It takes work by real estate professionals and attorneys. There are legitimate cases where they may get paid even if families receive nothing.
But this process is ripe for abuse, and that’s what the Review-Journal investigation uncovered. Many homes are sold without a competitive bidding process. In one instance, Mr. Moore sold a home to We Flip It LLC. Less than a week later, it flipped the house for almost $30,000 more than it paid. In another case, Mr. Moore received court approval to oversee Tsoghik Khachatryan’s estate. He temporarily forced her husband and kids out of their home before resigning from the case.
In other cases, Mr. Moore paid out more than $900,000 to private entities for “costs listed in court records as foreclosure monitoring, abatement services, abatement fees or just ‘abatement.’ ”
Several other probate attorneys said “they had never heard” of those fees.
This is an outrage. There are legitimate competing interests in these cases, but the Legislature needs to do a better job of protecting the assets of the deceased and their heirs.
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — We’ll start the week with a heightened fire danger with dangerous heat later this week.
TODAY
Expect mostly sunny skies with winds picking up again on Monday. High temperatures will reach 98 degrees in Las Vegas with south winds 10-20 mph and wind gusts up to 30 mph.
A RED FLAG WARNING is in place from 10am to 9pm Monday for gusty winds and dry weather, so if a fire started, it would spread quickly.
Winds are estimated to be 20-25 mph with gusts around 40 mph at times with relative humidity of 5%-15%.
Air quality is ranked ‘good’ to ‘moderate’ for dust and tree pollen. The most common pollens are juniper, cedar, willow, sycamore and palm.
TONIGHT
We’ll see variable clouds this evening with skies going from mostly cloudy to mostly clear overnight.
Wind gusts will pick up again before midnight with gusts 30-40 mph possible downslope of the Spring Mountains in the west valley.
Elsewhere, gusts will be 20-30 mph. Breezes will eventually back down to 5-15 mph overnight. Valley lows will drop to around 74 degrees.
WHAT’S NEXT
We have reached 109 consecutive days without measurable rain in Las Vegas.
No rain is in sight, but for perspective, June is the driest month of the year in Las Vegas. Fingers crossed on a hopefully more active monsoon season!
High pressure builds next with highs 5-10 degrees above normal. Temperatures will reach around 108 degrees in Las Vegas by Friday. The last time we hit a high temperature of 108 degrees was back on August 20th of last year.
Not much relief is in sight by the weekend with highs around 107 degrees and temps at or above 105-106 degrees NEXT Monday through Wednesday.
Growing DNA databases continue to unlock decades-old cold cases. How the DNA Doe Project helped to identify remains 37 years later.
© KSNV, NBC News Channel
First team
Ty Ahlstrom, Centennial – The junior had 373 digs and was a first-team 5A all-state libero for the 5A state runner-up.
Evan Ditmar, Palo Verde – The senior first-team 5A all-state outside hitter had 187 kills with a .328 hitting percentage.
Luke Hashimoto, Arbor View – The senior had 302 digs and 37 aces for the 5A state champion.
Porter Hughes, Basic – The senior had 373 kills with 218 digs and 38 aces for the 5A state semifinalist.
Lincoln Larson, Centennial – The senior was the 5A state player of the year and was second in the state with 460 kills, on a .371 hitting percentage, and added 283 digs and 72 aces for the 5A state runner-up.
Jagger Mendenhall, Palo Verde – The senior first-team 5A all-state setter had 414 assists.
Risden Miller, Arbor View – The junior led the 5A state champion with 279 kills and added 173 digs.
RJ Regalado, Centennial – The senior had 723 assists and was a first-team 5A all-state.
Max Romzek, Shadow Ridge – The junior had 152 kills on a .437 hitting percentage with 66 blocks for the 5A state semifinalist.
Mateo Salomon, Shadow Ridge – The sophomore had 169 kills with a .374 hitting percentage for the 5A state semifinalist.
Keagan Sugden, Arbor View – The junior setter led the state with 1,129 assists for the 5A state champion.
Mau Tuiaana, Centennial – The senior had 162 kills on a .397 hitting percentage, 92 blocks and 147 digs for the 5A state runner-up.
Kenyon Wickliffe, Arbor View – The senior had a .477 hitting percentage with 176 kills and 46 blocks for the 5A state champion. He is committed to Cal State Northridge.
Jacob Wienke, Desert Oasis – The senior was the 4A Mountain League player of the year led the Diamondbacks with 290 kills and 154 digs on their way to the 4A state title.
Coach of the year
Nicole Adarme, Arbor View – Guided the Aggies to the Class 5A state title, the program’s first boys volleyball title.
Second team
Graham Blanchard, Arbor View – The senior had 179 kills, 32 aces and 136 digs for the 5A state champion.
Zelworth Chavis, Liberty – The 4A Lake League player of the year had 731 assists and 64 aces for the 4A state semifinalist.
Zavier Coleman, Shadow Ridge – The senior had 139 kills and 136 digs and was a first-team 5A all-state selection.
Andrew Gutierrez, Palo Verde – The junior had 153 kills 35 aces and was a first-team 5A all-state outside hitter.
Ty Hardy, Basic – The senior had 274 kills and 257 digs for the 5A state semifinalist.
Ty Harper, Shadow Ridge – The senior had 211 digs and was a first-team 5A all-state selection for the 5A state semifinalist.
Kaleb Law, Mojave – The senior was the 4A Sky League player of the year and was second in the state with 436 kills on a .457 hitting percentage with 69 blocks, 55 aces and 249 digs to help the Rattlers reach the 4A state semifinals.
Oakland Liugalua, Cadence — The freshman had 406 kills on a .396 hitting percentage with 154 digs and 57 aces.
Gavin McColl, Centennial – The senior had 154 kills on a .333 hitting percentage with 94 blocks for the 5A state runner-up.
Brad Rappleye, Sky Pointe – The junior was the 4A Desert League player of the year and had 187 kills and 78 blocks to help the Eagles reach the 4A state title game.
Levi Randall, Boulder City – The junior had 149 kills with a .477 hitting percentage and 92 blocks for the 3A state champion.
Yeheshua Ruiz, Foothill – The senior had 157 kills with a .426 hitting percentage with 70 blocks and was a first-team 5A all-state selection.
Preston Van Beveren, Boulder City – The senior had 137 kills on a .457 hitting percentage with 99 blocks, 27 aces and 141 digs for the 3A state champion.
David Zwahlen, Boulder City – The 3A state player of the year had 232 kills with a .364 hitting percentage, with 337 digs and 70 aces.
Honorable mention
Aaron Bagalawis, Mojave
Treyden Baltazar, Coronado
Kaden Co, Liberty
Jayden Elliazar-Keiki, Shadow Ridge
Ben Fife, Palo Verde
Dallas Hashimoto, Sky Pointe
Jacob Hutchings, SLAM! Nevada
Tucker Jenkins, Sky Pointe
Makai Kelley, Sky Pointe
Gibson Lamoreaux, Boulder City
Quintrell McGee, Mojave
Zion Moore, Shadow Ridge
Hunter Perkins, Cheyenne
Gunnar Robinson, Arbor View
Thomas Rowley, Coronado
Easton Smith, Desert Oasis
Spencer Stolworthy, Moapa Valley
Cooper Swenson, Centennial
Parker Teal, Centennial
Toller Trummell, Foothill
Jordan Valdez, Liberty
Owen Wenger, Arbor View
Luke Wilkinson, Coronado
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
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